A prior art method relevant to the present invention for inserting and removing staples with respect to living tissue is well known in the art. Generally that method includes (1) providing an open staple comprising a central portion and end portions attached to the central portion that have pointed distal ends which project generally normally away from its central portion in a single plane; (2) positioning the pointed ends of the staple adjacent the tissue; (3) closing the staple by bending it in the plane so that its pointed ends pierce the tissue and its end portions move to a position with their pointed ends adjacent each other directed toward, aligned with and adjacent each other so that the end portions and the central portion of the staple define a generally "D" shaped single loop and so that the tissue is gathered and held together by the closed staple; and then (4) opening the staple by bending the central portion of the staple to generally a U-shape so that the end portions of the staple will retract from the tissue, which bending is caused by placing two spaced jaw members of a staple remover between the tissue and the central portion of the staple, placing a third jaw member of the staple remover between the two spaced jaw members on the side of the central portion opposite the tissue, and manually manipulating the staple remover to move the third jaw member through the two spaced jaw members so that the U-shape bend is made in the central portion of the staple.
With this prior art method, if the end portions of the staple do not remain in the same plane when the staple is bent open, the staple end portions will tear a new opening through the tissue rather than being retracted generally along the opening in the tissue they occupied when the staple was closed. The staple will be bent open with its end portions remaining in the same plane only if the jaws of the staple remover contact the central portion of the staple on its surfaces disposed at right angles to the plane of its closed end portions. It is often difficult for a user to be certain that he has engaged the staple remover on these surfaces of the staple's central portion, however, since the central portion of the staple is typically round and gives no indication of its orientation; and since the end portions of the closed staple are often buried in the tissue where their orientation cannot be determined. Also, even if the orientation of the buried end portions of the staple can be determined to be at some angle other then 90 degrees to the surface of the tissue, it is often difficult to properly engage the jaws of the remover on surfaces of the central portion without pressing the end portions of the jaws into the tissue, which can cause damage.